Detroit Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis (31) closes in on Chicago Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) during the first quarter of an NFL football game at Ford Field in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

ALLEN PARK — Rashean Mathis spent his day off Monday at the Lions facility working out.

It was a good sign for the starting Detroit Lions cornerback who was held out of the final three quarters of Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears even though he had passed concussion tests.

“He has passed his initial concussion test. He was never diagnosed with a concussion on the sideline but during the game there was question of whether he was concussed,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “Our people decided to err on the side of caution there even though he wasn’t diagnosed with a concussion we thought it was prudent for him to not go back into the game.’’

Schwartz said it was a good sign that when Mathis worked out Monday morning he was not having any symptoms.

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“Sometimes you see delayed stuff where a guy looks good one day and next day comes back, headaches, light insensitivity or whatever it is, none of that has been the case with Rashean,’’ Schwartz said. “We would expect unless he has some other sort of setback it will remain that way.’’

Mathis did stay on the sidelines during the game helping out rookie Darius Slay, who stepped in for him, when Slay came off the field.

“We feel pretty good about where he is right now,’’ Schwartz said. “We’ll see how it goes the rest of the week.’’

‘Ridiculous’ allegations

Some Chicago Bears players told an ESPN reporter on Sunday that they thought former Bears defensive end Israel Idonije had tipped the Lions off to their stunts. Every time they ran a power stunt, Reggie Bush saw it and made the most of it.

“I really think that’s ridiculous, I think it takes away from the players on the field.’’ Schwartz said. “We rushed for a lot of yards because we blocked them and Reggie Bush broke tackles. To say Reggie Bush is 8 yards behind the quarterback and he can hear what a line call is I think that’s ridiculous.’’

Bush ran for 139 yards including a 37-yard touchdown scamper.

“I’d also like to point out they signed Landon Cohen last week,’’ Schwartz said. “Landon had been here a long time and we haven’t changed our scheme since Landon was here I didn’t see that being a big difference in the game. Stuff like that comes up, it’s just the nature of the NFL.’’

Houston status uncertain

It was not a good day for Lions cornerbacks Sunday. Chris Houston left the game in the fourth quarter with a leg injury and could not return.

That’s usually not a good sign.

“We’ll see where he can get to this week we’ll try to get him back as we can,’’ Schwartz said. “At this point it doesn’t appear as if it’s more than day to day or week to week.’’

Jonte Green, who has been playing mostly on special teams, saw action when Houston went out.

About the Author

Paula Pasche is a longtime sports writer for The Oakland Press and blogs at http://oplions.blogspot.com/. Author of book, "100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." Follow on Tout and Twitter @paulapasche. Reach the author at paula.pasche@oakpress.com
or follow Paula on Twitter: @PaulaPasche.